In recent years, our society is more widely using telephones and the availability and use of a telephone has become not only convenient but almost a necessity. In view of this need, hospitals now provide substantially all bed-ridden patients with a bed side telephone. Most often, the telephone is placed on a bed side stand adjacent to the bed. However, locating the telephone on the bed side stand is inconvenient. Depending on the condition of the patient and other hospital equipment around the bed, it can be very difficult for the patient to reach to the top of the bed side stand for accessing the telephone.
As a result of the above-described inconvenience, some patients place the telephone directly on the bed on one side thereof on top of the bed covers. As can be appreciated, this is also inconvenient and restrictive in not allowing the patient use of the entire bed. Additionally, inadvertent pulling of the bed covers, such as when the patient is asleep, causes the telephone to tip or otherwise roll and causing the handset to be inadvertently disjoined from the telephone.
Solutions to the foregoing problems have been to provide hospital bed telephone brackets or holders which are attached to a bed side rail and which function to support the telephone thereon. Examples of such bed side rail telephone holders are disclosed in Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,657; Hamm, U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,154; Pruente et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,522; Herron et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,992; and, Rioux, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,277. Although these telephone brackets and holders function to support a telephone on a bed side rail, they have shortcomings and drawbacks. In general, these prior telephone brackets and holders are capable of only holding a telephone on a bed side rail and must be stored when not in use in a separate location from that of the telephone. Thus, when the telephone is on the bed side stand, the bracket must be stored elsewhere. Additionally, the prior telephone brackets and holders do not necessarily provide a positive attachment between the holder or bracket and the bed side rail and also do not provide a positive attachment between the telephone and the bracket or holder. Therefore, t is possible for the bracket or holder to be dislodged from the side rail or for the telephone to be dislodged from the bracket or holder itself.
Accordingly, a need exists for a bed side rail telephone holder/bracket that positively attaches to the bed side rail and that also provides a positive attachment between the holder/bracket and the telephone supported thereon. Additionally, a need exists for eliminating the storage problem of the holder/bracket when it is not attached to the bed side rail. Further yet, the holder/bracket must be generally sturdy and attractive to consumers yet must be generally inexpensive to manufacture.